Drama Time! Guilty: Akuma to Keiyaku Shita onna

Nogami Meiko works in a pet grooming salon in Shirogane she is very skilled at what she does and loves her job greatly.  She works happily and is loved by the salon's owner and her co-worker.  But Meiko has a secret, when she was 19, she was imprisoned for murder wrongfully because of this she suffered greatly and vowed to get revenge on everyone that framed her for the murder of her own family.  When she begins to put her plans into action by chance she meets Mashima Takuro who helped her in a moment of trouble,  Takuro is actually a police detective but he keeps this a secret from her knowing about her past. That chance meeting with the detective could break Meikos plan for revenge or set them into advancing quicker.

This drama was full of plot twist and moment where the watcher will be in some disbelief.  The actor that portrayed Meiko did a great job seeing as you can feel sympathy for her but can still be scared of her at the same time especially when she does the evil smile (so creepy).  At the end of the drama when all of it finally unfolds and nothing else can be done a happy ending is strongly hoped for but at the same time not likely obtained, the ending was truthfully the perfect for the story line as sad as it was.  Still there's a lot of things to love about this drama there's an underlying love story for the main characters, there's death, there action, there's tragedy, there's evil that's more evil than it appear but most importantly there's dogs, cute dogs which are lovable and you get to see throughout the drama.  To see all the cute dogs and to of course find out Meiko's tragic story you will have to watch this drama, so....


Matane!
またね！

Kokeshi Dolls

Traditional Kokeshi

The kokeshi dolls are dolls with a large head and a small body with no legs or arms.  The dolls head is painted to look like a face and the body is decorated with many different floral designs.  Traditionally Kokeshi dolls are made of wood but modern kokeshi dolls can be made in marble and are painted more colorfully than the traditional kind.  These dolls are a popular souvenirs for tourist in the northern part of japan as they are commonly sold in hot spring and many foreigners can recognize it as one of the symbols of Japaneses culture but many do not know the origins of the kokeshi doll.  In fact the younger Japanese people will most likely smile when the word is said because it is now used as a sexual innuendo because of the shape of the doll.

Creative/Modern Kokeshi

A kokeshi doll has many different significances some that are speculative because of the etymology of the word.  Either way there are two different histories that are given to the doll and both have to do with children.  The first is a bit dark, because the word kokeshi can be written in kanji in many different ways one of the theories for its origins has to do with abortion and infanticide.  Since 'ko' can be written with the kanji for child and 'keshi' can be written with the kanji for erase some believe that a kokeshi was given to console mothers who had lost their children, since infanticide and abortions were not uncommon to prevent famines within villages.

 The second has to do with the fact that traditional kokeshi dolls that are from their own period are rare to find.  Since the kokeshi doll are made of wood they are said to hold a mountain spirit withing them that protects the child they belong to by the time the child grows up into an adult these dolls are burned so that the spirit can return to its home in the mountain.    Since the spirit is there to protect the child Kokeshi dolls are bought with the hopes for the growth of healthy child and have the month, year and name of the child as well as the makers stamp written on the bottom of the doll.   Another thing that is unique to the kokeshi doll is that they are said to prevent fires in homes maybe because of the wood they are made from.

Because their origin is still not specifically known these are mostly speculations.  Still these dolls are used as ornaments as their colors and craft ship makes them the perfect decoration for homes and a nice gift for people back home. 

White Day

Last month on the 14th we celebrated Valentines Day this month on the 14th though in Japan we celebrate White Day.  Though it originated in Japan as a extremely clever marketing ploy to sell marshmallows to the masses White Day became very popular so much in fact that it has spread to other countries like South Korea, China and Taiwan. 

Now since guys did nothing but receive gifts on Valentines Day today is the day where they return the favor to the girls and give out their own sets of gifts of love and friendship.  On this day guys give out flowers, jewelry and of course white chocolate and marshmallow treats to the girls that they received chocolate from on Valentines Day.  Like their girl counter parts the guys give out giri choco (obligation chocolates) to their coworkers or friends and honmei choco to the girls they like.

You might be wondering though if a guy where to receive honmei choco from a girl on valentines they didn't like would they have to return with honmei choco for that girl?  Well no, if it were like that every girl in japan would probably be in a relationship after white day, if the guy doesn't like the girl he could give her cookies instead of chocolate as an easy let down.  If, of course, he likes her then he could give her anything she would like or chocolate.  Isn't that nice?

One last interesting thing about White Day there's a term called sanbai-gaeshiin or three times the return that says that the guys have to return to the girls three times the amount which they received.  Which means if you got 10 dollar chocolates from all the girls at your workplace you have to give back 30 dollar chocolates to all the girls at your workplace.  (Ouch!)

At any rate, Happy White Day!

Drama Time! Kimi wa Petto

Iwaya Sumire is beautiful, smart and successful because of this people feel inferior to her, finding her extremely scary and hard to approach.  Her stone cold personality doesn't help her relationships with people either making her a loner in her job as a new reporter.   After punching out her section chief at work because of sexual harassment she goes home with a headache that has been bothering her for days.  Once in front of her apartment building she finds a box with a injured boy inside it, instead of calling the police she decides to take the boy inside her home and heal his wounds because he reminded her of a dog she had when young named Momo.  Going to work the next morning she gets demoted from the external affairs department of the newspaper to the lifestyle department because of what had happened the day before.  Being extremely annoyed and stressed she goes back home to find the injured boy still in her house after an argument she tells him that she will let him stay if he becomes her pet in an attempt to make him leave, amazingly though he agrees to this and begins to live in her house as Momo.

A really weird story line truthfully but really well executed all around.  The actors do well to portray the characters and although they are definitely not like the average person personality wise they each have something that allows the watcher to feel like they have many things in common with them.  There are also many moments withing the drama that are funny because of Sumire's cold personality and Momo's pushy personality having to do with Momos attempts at getting kisses from his new owner.  All in all this is a drama for the more mature watcher as there are many instances where sex is mentioned and Sumire is very aware of the fact that Momo is trying his best at times to make a move.  Still the drama is a good drama to watch in all of its aspects as its not the average love story. That being said be sure to watch it till them...

 Matane!
またね！

Eiga Time! High School Debut Live Action

Haruna Nagashima devoted her life to softball while in middle school. After entering high school, Haruna sets out to find a boyfriend believing high school is the perfect time for it. Sadly though Haruna is clueless about how to even start as she didn't pay attention to the trends or how to get a guys attention.  After some rather awkward occurrences Haruna meets the popular You Komiyama
 and ask him to be her love coach and after much pressure he agrees with only one condition she can't fall in love with him.  Haruna agrees and so her high school debut begins.

Another sweet love story for the month making you feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside.  Like Lovely Complex this live action is based on a manga with the same name which exactly like Lovely complex I read a very long time ago, still the story is sweet and funny so its a great read or in this case a good thing to watch.  Now for this one I spent most of my time while watching rolling my eyes at time at how corny or incredibly douchy-ie the main guy was but still it was fun to watch.  The movie takes the manga/anime approach with some of the comedy that happens but still makes you relate with the character on some levels.  The movie is definitely sweet so go ahead and watch it to get the lovey dovey feel of spring coming your way.


Matane!
またね！　

Eiga Time! Lovely Complex Live Action

Risa Koizumi is a girl who is taller than most girls her age and was dumped in the past because she was too tall while Atsushi Otani is a boy who is shorter than most people his age and was dumped in the past because he was short.  Because of this reason Atsushi and Risa are sensitive about their height.  They are made fun of by their classmates because of their perfect timing with each other and their similarities after getting into an argument with each other Risa says she can get a boyfriend in a week.  After this her friend tries to set her up with two weird guys and their friend, their friend turns out to be Atsushi who saves Risa from having to deal with the two guys after this they find out they have something amazing in common and become best friends.  After some time Risa realizes she actually like Atsushi and confesses but Atsushi doesn't respond and she takes it as a rejection.  They remain friends but they relationship becomes awkward and distant.   What happens to their friendship if they can't communicate, what happens to Risa's love that wasn't responded to? These are question that are answered after watching the movie.

This movie which is based of a manga and also has a anime series is just like the name lovely.  A very but seriously very long time ago I read the manga and was actually happy to know there was a movie based of it.  The manga is cute and funny and not the usual overbearing love story to read so it was great.  Now there are many things going on in the movie that differ from the manga, some characters change and the storyline has also changed a bit, but it still keeps its sweetness and light comedy that was seen in the manga.  There are other love affairs going on in the movie besides the two main characters that are just as funny if not funnier than the two with the height complex so there much to pay attention to.  It's one of my favorite movies because I can laugh but feel happy while watching it even when the bad moments are going on.  A must watch for those that are not in love but wish to be in love and for those in love who want to watch and keep being in love.   But definitely is a movie to be watched.

Personal Post- Spreadin love?

Since there's a whole month before White day I thought it would be a good idea to spread some love with some of my favorite lovey dovey dramas and movies.  Though I'm not the type to like the whole romance genre these few that I will share with you are definitely interesting and funny, if they weren't I wouldn't share them now would I? That in mind just giving people a heads up.

またな！
Matane!

Valentines Day in Japan

Valentines day a day where couples come together to share their love with each other and with the world.  We know this day for the endless amount of chocolate we will see, receive or give all through the day.  Chocolates are given to the person you like or to friends to show your love for them.

In Japan Valentines Day is like anywhere else, chocolate by the mountains, but it differs in that this holiday is for girls to give chocolates to the guy they like and the guys only need to receive these chocolates.  Of course gentlemen don't get too exited thinking that she likes you when you get chocolate from a pretty girl there is such a thing as giri choco or obligation chocolates.  These chocolate are for co-workers, acquaintances or friends to which the girl has no romantic feelings for and usually the same girl will give these out to about 20 to 30 guys in her workplace.  Be sure to get excited though if you get honmei choco which are the chocolates a girl will give to that one special guy in her life.

Of course guys only receiving chocolates on this day seems one sided and selfish but don't worry White Day will come in March 14 exactly one month later so that the men can answer the feelings of their female counter parts and give out their share of chocolate and confessions for themselves.

Happy Valentines Day!

Kamidana

A kamidana is a household Shinto shrine in which a kami can be enshrined and worshiped within a home or shop.  They are placed in a bright, clean and quite place in a home where it would be easy to place offerings and send prayers.  Kamidana can be big and elaborately decorated or they can be simple this depends on the person that buys the kamidana and on the kami that will be enshrined withing it.  Still the structure of the kamidana consist of a small shelf where the offerings are put and a taima that stands on the center of the shrine.  On either side are paper amulets with local kami and ancestral kami place in them.  Some kamidana also have the shimenawa placed upon its entrance.

Usual offerings for a kamidana are water, sake, food, and green twigs that should be placed and changed daily for the blessing of the household.   Kamidana are used by people who move far from their hometowns and wish to continue being protected by their kami.

Drama Time! Seigi no Mikata

A person who stands for all the right things and is not afraid to speak about the things that are wrong making everything around them better as a result this is to everyone an ally of justice this is the definition of Nakata Makiko.  Or at least to everyone that isn't her little sister Nakata Yoko who knows her big sisters is the true nature of evil.  Yoko since young has lived under her sister tyranny having to do all her chores, run to great lengths to do things for her without gratitude or rest, Yoko knows the full extent of her big sisters evil and understands very well that the things Makiko does are for her out gain rather than the worlds. But somehow everything always turns out for the better when her sister is involved.  Yoko lives a troubled life because of her sister and she wonders if it will ever be peaceful. 

I loved this drama it was simply perfection, or at least I think so.  The big sister is evil in all ways a person could be but somehow everyone thinks she is an ally of justice and every time it happens the moment was pure gold, I loved the way she ridiculously got away with the things she did or said.  Somehow it makes me want to be an ally of justice just like her but I am sure that someone would have to suffer like the poor little sister so I will never attempt it.  All in all the drama was probably one of my favorites the characters were realistic yet still a bit eccentric making the drama more interesting.  So lets all be ally's of justice and watch this drama lets go!

Matane!
またね！

Drama Time! Guren Onna

Nabekura Fumiyo a high school teacher who keeps everything inside and has a dark personality because of this people tend to stay away from her and her students don't respect her.  This is only her during the day though at night she transforms into the famed Guren Onna a 'ghost' who is looking for the man that killed her and burns the men that come through her path, with this back story she scares those that see her all through the night.  She finds out that other 'ghost' are out and about taking her place so she sets out to stop them and ends up running into actual ghost.  Trouble come the Guren Onna every night as she tries to maintain her fear factor amongst people.

This drama is pretty interesting to say the least, the main character is very weird but because of this she is very funny.  Though I must confess that I have not actually finished watching this drama I remember liking it and plan on finishing it very soon.

Sunomata Castle

Also known as the Sunomata Ichiya jo, or the Sunomata's One day Castle is a castle that was built overnight or so legend says. 

This castle has historical significance in Japan as it lead Hideyoshi Toyotomi's rise to power, who later became one of the military unifier of japan.  The castle was a clever tactical ploy by Hideyoshi who prefabricated parts of the fortress and had them erected over night to confuse and demoralize the enemy.  The tactic worked and the battle was won on that day.

The castle itself was nothing grand in structure originally.   The original structure was nothing more than a wooden walled fortress with  a lookout tower and basic living quarters.  Now the castle has been reconstructed and looks better than it did originally it serves now as a local history museum which includes the story of the castle as well as Samurai weapons and armor discovered in the castle during its renovation.   Note though that since the castle is visited mostly by Japanese tourist there are little English explanations.  Of course this doesn't stop those that can't read Japanese from enjoying the architecture and the surroundings of this beautiful castle. 

Ofuda

An Ofuda is a talisman that is bought at a shrine for the blessing or protection of a household by a
specific kami.  The ofuda is a strip of paper, wood, cloth or metal that is inscribed with the name of a kami and/or the name of the shrine where it was bought.  The ofuda is sometimes placed within a Kamidana and if not on a door, pillar or the ceiling of a home.  Since the ofuda is infused with the kami's power and does not actually contain the kami it needs to be replaced before the year.

Drama Time! Anna san no Omame

Anna is the definition of the perfect woman smart, beautiful, kind and elegant but she is not the main character of this drama.  The main character of this drama is Lily a girl who creates giant misunderstandings for herself because of her very over active imagination, Lily believes that all the men in the world love her for her beauty.  When Anna decides to introduce her boyfriend to Lily misunderstanding do unfold a Lily falls for Anna's boyfriend Kyotaro.  This creates a huge problem for Kyotaro who wants nothing to do with Lily and only wants to be with Anna.

This drama is based on a manga with the same name and with the same story line.  The drama was a huge ball of laughs although Lily could possibly be the most annoying person on earth you cannot help but come to like her and her personality.  Since it is based on a manga there are many times when the real world aspect of things is lost and things happen ridiculously being addressed by the narrator besides that there's not much that I can say about the drama it looks like.   As it is a comedy drama I urge that you pay attention to the things happening in the background as there are some really weird and funny things happening all around the characters that should not be missed.   All in all it is a drama that you could watch to release stress so go meet Lily and watch the drama!


 ぱきゅｎ！ぱきゅん！
 Bang! Bang!